Contract No. TD 100/2002 Cycling Study Final Report April 2004 in association with Limited Contract No. TD 100/2002 Cycling Study CONTENTS PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE ...........................................................................1 1.1 Introduction and Purpose of this Report ...................................................................1 1.2 Definition of Terms and Full Page Versions of Figures.............................................1 2. THE CURRENT ROLE OF CYCLING IN HONG KONG’S INTEGRATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM............................................................................................2 2.1 General Overview.....................................................................................................2 2.2 Different Types of Cyclist and Cycling Purpose .......................................................5 2.3 Planned Cycle Tracks in Hong Kong ........................................................................6 2.4 Views of Hong Kong Cyclists....................................................................................7 2.5 Cycles and Public Transport.....................................................................................9 2.6 Design Guidance for On-Street Cycling Facilities in Hong Kong...............................9 2.7 Summary of the Existing Cycling Situation in Hong Kong .........................................9 3. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM OVERSEAS AND APPLICABILITY TO HONG KONG.....................................................................................................................11 3.1 Overseas Strategies, Policies and Justifications for the Promotion of Cycling ........11 3.2 Other Overseas Surveys of Cyclists and Cycling....................................................12 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CYCLING POLICY IN HONG KONG.....................................................................................................................14 4.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................14 4.2 Expansion of the Role of Cycling ............................................................................14 4.3 Education, Training and Enforcement.....................................................................14 4.4 Meeting the Needs of Existing Cyclists ...................................................................15 4.5 Changes to Design Standards and other Cycling Related Publications ..................17 Final Report March 2004 Contents - Page i Contract No. TD 100/2002 Cycling Study TABLES Table 1 - Distribution of Cycling Mode Share .........................................................................3 Table 2 - Location of Existing Cycle Tracks............................................................................3 Table 3 - Summary of the Views of Hong Kong Cyclists.........................................................7 Table 4 - Carriage of Bicycles on Public Transport.................................................................9 Table 5 - Review of Standard Justifications for Promoting Cycling.......................................12 Table 6 - Cycling Mode Share ..............................................................................................13 FIGURES Figure 1 - Daily Cycle Trips per Capita...................................................................................2 Figure 2 - Weekday Accident Rate per 1000 Cycle Trips by Sector .......................................4 Figure 3 - Trip Purpose ..........................................................................................................6 APPENDICES Appendix I - Definition of Terms Appendix II - Full Page Copies of Figures Appendix III - Other Overseas Cycling Initiatives PLANS Plan 1 – Existing Cycle Route March 2004 Final Report Contents - Page ii Contract No. TD 100/2002 Cycling Study 1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE 1.1 Introduction and Purpose of this Report 1.1.1 This Final Report presents the findings of the Cycling Study which commenced in January 2003. 1.1.2 The objectives of the Study were as follows: • To identify the current role of cycling in Hong Kong. • To compare the cycling situation in Hong Kong with that in other similar cities of the world. • To review and update the current standards, guidelines, manuals and other publications relating to cycling. • To recommend a new approach as necessary. • To recommend the way forward. 1.1.3 Following this introduction, the layout of the report is as follows: • Chapter 2 identifies the current role of cycling in Hong Kong. • Chapter 3 sets out the main findings from comparisons between cycling in Hong Kong and overseas. • Chapter 4 sets out the conclusions reached from the Study and recommendations on the way forward and the approach to be adopted. 1.2 Definition of Terms and Full Page Versions of Figures 1.2.1 Appendix I gives a more detailed definition of the terms used in this document while Appendix II sets out the various figures in the document at full page size. Final Report March 2004 Page 1 Contract No. TD 100/2002 Cycling Study 2. THE CURRENT ROLE OF CYCLING IN HONG KONG’S INTEGRATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM 2.1 General Overview 2.1.1 In Hong Kong there are approximately 12.3 million mechanised trips a day of which about 62,000 are cycle trips1. Thus cycling accounts for about 0.5% of the daily weekday mechanised trips in Hong Kong overall. This average figure however covers major variations in the amount of daily cycling which takes place in different parts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). 2.1.2 It is found that 97% of the daily cycle trips take place in the New Territories and Outlying Islands while only 3% take place on Hong Kong Island and in the urban areas of Kowloon2. Figure 1 sets out the per capita distribution of weekday cycling trips. Figure 1 - Daily Cycle Trips per Capita Daily Cycle Trips per 1000 Residents 60 s t n e d 50 si e 0 R 40 r 100 e 30 p s p i r 20 e T cl y C 10 y l i a D 0 HKI KLN NT Urban NT Rural NT Total Outlying Islands Sector 2.1.3 It can be observed that cycling is a far less popular mode of transport on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon than it is in the New Territories and Outlying Islands and also that cycling is almost as popular in the urban New Territories, which represents the new towns, as it is in the rural New Territories. 2.1.4 The share of the 12.3 million daily passenger trips undertaken by bicycle can be evaluated from the Travel Characteristics Survey, 2002 (TCS2002) data and has also been disaggregated into the 5 sectors as shown in Table 1. The percentage 1 Based on the Travel Characteristics Survey (TCS) 2002. 2 Note on sectors: For the purposes of analysis of the TCS2002 data Hong Kong has been split into 5 broad sectors: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, NT Urban, NT Rural and Outlying Islands. NT Urban is the new towns such as Shatin, Fanling, Sheung Shui, Tai Po etc. These sectors are based on the normal Planning Department definitions except that Tsuen Wan District and Kwai Tsing District are included as part of Kowloon as part of the metro area since the characteristics will be similar to the metro area rather than the New Territories. March 2004 Final Report Page 2 Contract No. TD 100/2002 Cycling Study cycling has to be rounded to the nearest unit percentage to reflect the overall accuracy of the disaggregated figures3. Table 1 - Distribution of Cycling Mode Share Sector Daily Cycle Mode Share Hong Kong Island 0% (0.01%) Kowloon 0% (0.03%) Urban NT 2% Rural NT 2% Outlying Islands 2% Territory Wide 0.5% 2.1.5 Since the new towns have a level of cycling similar to that in the more rural areas it is clear that urbanisation as such does not serve to deter cycling and that there are other underlying reasons why cycling on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon is at such a low level. 2.1.6 The first of these reasons is considered to be the provision of cycle routes in the form of cycle tracks which provide, on the whole, a pleasant and safe environment for cycling. Additionally in the rural New Territories there are networks of village roads with relatively little motor traffic on them. 2.1.7 Plan 1 shows the location of the existing cycle tracks in the HKSAR and it can be seen that they are all located in the New Territories. There are currently about 170kms of cycle track in the HKSAR of which about 140kms are in the new towns and there is little doubt that for the average person these tracks are an important prerequisite for consideration of cycling. 2.1.8 Table 2 shows the broad location of the existing lengths of cycle track which it can be seen are mainly located in the urban areas of the New Territories in towns such as Shatin, Fanling and Sheung Shui. Table 2 - Location of Existing Cycle Tracks Sector Track Length (km) Rural NT 30.5 Urban NT 139.5 2.1.9 Also shown on Plan 1 are the flatter areas of the HKSAR, with gradients of 5% or less which are suitable for cycling. The average cyclist will not cycle on gradients steeper than 4-5% for any distance and will generally get off the cycle and walk. Those cyclable areas in the New Territories are coloured pale green while those on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon are coloured orange. 3 The figures in brackets are given to show there is some cycling mode share in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon even though this is very small and is not intended to imply figures are accurate to 2 decimal places. Final Report March 2004 Page 3 Contract No. TD 100/2002